


Of Missed Opportunities And Second Chances

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Balcony Scene, But so does Adrien, F/M, Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Set at end of Season 2, but a new one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22199125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Marinette shares something about her disastrous love life, leading Chat Noir to a startling realisation
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 13
Kudos: 246
Collections: Miraculous, Miraculous Ladybug and Cat/Chat Noir Reveal





	Of Missed Opportunities And Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this story, let's forget Season 3 happened, ok? I mean, this wouldn't work after Weredad, you'll see why. I can't keep up the current timeline and pretend Weredad never happened (the way the show did, I'm looking at you, right!) So let's say this happens towards the end of Season 2.  
> Marinette and Adrien have very different approaches to love and when I listened to this song it made me feel for Marinette in a way I hadn't before.  
> I hope you like it!

_There was a time_

_There was a place_

_But there was fear inside_

_A witty lie to save my face_

_A parachute of pride_

_To cross the line takes a tiny step_

_But will this spark cause the bridge to burn_

_My fear entwined with my regret_

_A beaten path for safe return_

_(Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford - Thing Called Love (Arksun Filmscape Mix) _

Adrien was pretty sure he’d do anything to wipe the sad expression from Marinette’s face. When he’d spotted her on her balcony, head bent in defeat and shoulders hunched under an invisible weight, he felt drawn to her in a way he couldn’t explain. He liked to joke that he was a knight in shining armour answering to a damsel in distress call. Usually he could get away with such nonsense, but he felt it wouldn’t be appreciated now. Also, he knew better. Marinette was pretty capable of fighting her own battles, she was no damsel in distress waiting to be saved. But this didn’t stop him from trying to at least make her feel better. Lend a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on if necessary. Although he hoped that whatever troubled her wasn’t serious enough to cause crying. He didn’t think he could take it. 

So here they were. The way they stood side by side, each lost in their own troubles, caused a severe case of deja-vu. He remembered clearly that night when he’d sought her company in an attempt to soothe his aching heart. And he’d found her heartbroken too. He never found out who was the boy that caused her to be so sad back then though. 

And now they were in a very similar situation. Although he’d just chanced upon her on a regular patrol, he was still troubled by heart matters. Was there a time when he didn’t ponder his hopeless situation, wanting to find a solution. And she hadn’t sent him away when he’d come, so this was a good sign. 

“You want to talk about it?” he asked tentatively after a few minutes of staring into the night. 

She let out a deep sigh, showing she didn’t really want to talk about it, but she’d reached that point when all else failed, so she’d take anything to feel better. And she started. 

“Have you ever tried really hard to tell someone something? Desperation clawing at your heart, torturing you, haunting you. You want to get the words out, but fear… That stupid fear prevents you. You either jumble your words or don’t manage to get a single one out. Or at times you feel like everything is against you, stopping you when you spot a perfect opportunity. And then it gets worse. You have the perfect chance, handed over to you. They ask you almost directly how you feel and you still can’t do it. You lie, bullshit your way out of it. Pretending you have no idea what they’re talking about...”

At this point, she was so worked up she looked ready to bang her head against a convenient wall and he was really worried about her. 

“Marinette…” he interjected. But she just shook her head, trying and failing to smile. 

“Of course you don’t. I’m asking the wrong person. You never have any trouble expressing your feelings,” she said, looking away. This left an uneasy feeling in his stomach. She sounded like she was very familiar with that side of him, but how could she be? It was Ladybug that made it impossible to keep his feelings inside, that made him spew all kinds of stupid remarks in an attempt to cover up for his embarrassing need to impress her. And well, it was true that he kind of wore his heart on his sleeve. But he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t exactly easy to confess his feelings, but he couldn’t live with not knowing either. So he didn’t understand how she felt. But since his own approach had only gotten his heart broken again and again, he didn’t know which was better. 

“I don’t know how this feels, you’re right, but maybe there is a good reason for how you act,” he suggested. Anything to comfort her. 

“I try to convince myself that there is. That it can ruin our friendship. That rejection would hurt too much. That this is not the kind of complication I need in my life,” she said with a rueful expression. “But it’s no use. The truth is I’m a coward.”

He tried to object. But she didn’t let him.

“No, Chat. I really am. And maybe too proud? If that makes sense. Because I don’t think my pride could survive such a blow.”

Proud? It wasn’t something he’d thought before, but it made sense. She didn’t want to appear weak, she didn’t accept help easily. She was insecure, yes, but she was proud in her own way. Proud like his lady. 

“So?” He prompted, not knowing if there was more. He wondered if she was talking about Luka. But she hadn’t seemed that shy and tongue-tied around him. And she didn't really know him for such a long time as she obviously did the object of her affection, as suggested by her repeated attempts to confess. 

“So this is the sorry tale. I’ve wanted to tell him that I like him for so long and when I could, when he asked me if I liked him, I panicked. It was not the right moment, it was not the way I wanted it to happen. So I denied. I should have told him. But I was too afraid. I was too afraid that he’d reject me, you know. And now … It’s too late now, he likes another girl.”

“He does?” Ouch. It sounded like Marinette was in a similar situation to his. He could relate to that.

“Yes, she’s new. He asked me for advice and then I decided to help him and we had a double date at the ice rink and oh, it was a disaster! I want him to be happy, even if it can’t be with me. But it’s so hard… “ she trailed off, not seeing his shocked expression.

Could such a big coincidence really happen? He’d had a strange feeling before, listening to her talk about her failed attempt to confess, because it sounded familiar. And now this? He’d asked Marinette if he liked him after that embarrassing situation with the photos and she’d denied. But then he’d asked Marinette for advice about Kagami and they’d went on a double date. Oh God, was it possible?

“You like Adrien?” he said without thinking it through.

“How… how do you know?” she said, going pale. Damn, he’d only made things worse. That’s what he got for not being able to keep his mouth shut. And then she supplied a possible way out. “Oh, you saw the photos when Troublemaker was in my house, right? Not that everyone else didn’t see them as well, on TV, but you had a front-row view.” 

There it was. His excuse. But he couldn’t imagine lying to her. If this was true and she’d lied to him then, another lie wouldn’t make things better. There was only one thing left to do now. Even if Ladybug was mad at him afterwards. First he had this crisis to deal with. 

“Plagg, claws in,” he said and saw how Marinette’s hands flew to her eyes but she saw him before they reached their destination. And she froze. Then a bright blush covered her cheeks as she realised what had just happened. 

“Oh God, no. I didn’t just… no... “ she said, panicked. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” he rushed to reassure her. Although was it ok? He’d just revealed his identity. And also he was about to break her heart. Damn his bad luck. How could this be happening to him? Out of all the girls in Paris, why did it have to be someone so close to his heart, so precious to him, that he had to hurt?

“Chat..Adrien… I’m sorry... You shouldn’t have...” she was saying. She was apologising now? He was the one who should be doing that.

“No, Marinette. I’m sorry. I had no idea,” that much was true. Although he couldn’t stop berating himself for believing that lie about her being just a fan. He should have seen through that, right? And still, this was no excuse. “I shouldn’t have asked you for advice about Kagami. And to bring you along for our date. How this must have hurt you… I’m really sorry.”

“But you didn’t know! Weren’t you listening to what I was just saying? I lied to you! How could you know that I felt like that? It’s not your fault,” she said, looking away, ashamed. 

“Well, I should have known. I.. “ How was he supposed to do that? Was there a gentle way to break someone’s heart? The fact remained that it would be broken, it didn’t matter if you wanted to do it or not. “You’re such a great person, Marinette. I’m really sorry I can’t…” He couldn’t say it. But he had to. “Love you back.”

Marinette didn’t even look surprised. She looked resigned. 

“Because you like Kagami, right?” Oh…” she exclaimed then, realisation suddenly clear on her face. “You gave up on Ladybug because of her,” she muttered, looking more miserable than ever. But why… 

“No. That’s the thing. I should have.” He saw Marinette’s mouth open in shock, he should have stopped, but he couldn’t. “But… I realised I couldn’t. I tried, I swear I did, but Kagami couldn’t replace her in my heart,” he admitted. His stupid stubborness! Now he was hurting another girl, because he couldn’t give up on Ladybug. And she loved someone else. What a mess.

He wasn’t sure what he expected after his admission. But it wasn’t Marinette’s shocked expression turning into a sad smile. Or her hand gently caressing his cheek. And a very familiar look coming into her eyes. He thought his heart realised what was happening even before she said,

“Oh, kitty. How did we get ourselves into such a mess?” 

Kitty. The way Ladybug called him. It was his turn to freeze. To look at her in shock. This was how she knew him so well. And hadn’t he just compared them in his mind? 

“M’lady,” he whispered. Awed. And confused. She was Ladybug. And Ladybug loved someone else. But Marinette liked Adrien. And Marinette was Ladybug. Which meant…

“Wow,” he added. This was.. Unbelievable. Just now he’d been thinking that he had the worst luck. Then how was this happening? Well, not that it was really happening. He really didn’t know what to think.

“Um. What happens now? When we suddenly realised that we love each other?” he asked, feeling his cheeks heat up. Yes, true to form he was saying too much when he’d better keep quiet. He’d just dumped his identity on her and made her realise she’d inadvertently confessed to the guy she liked. She probably needed some time. 

“Do we pretend nothing happened, because we’re the best at doing that, you mean?” she said and this time her smile was genuine. He could just nod. Right. 

“No, kitty, I think I learned my lesson. No more missed chances,” she said and the next thing he knew, she was kissing him. He had to admit this was the best answer she could have given him. They’d made mistakes, they’d been too shy or too forward with their feelings. But they must have done something right since they got this chance, he thought as he kissed her back. Better late than never, right? 

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, the song made me think of Marinette and her failed confessions to Adrien. But I couldn't write this from her point of view for the simple reason that when I was a teenager I was more like Adrien. I was the one to confess and yes, I got my heart broken many times. But waiting for the other one to make a move or just not knowing if there was a chance for something was too nerve-wrecking for me. Also, I was terrible at hiding my feelings and I never tried. Lying about them never even crossed my mind. So I decided to try this from his perspective. I hope it worked. And this was the information you didn't need but still got! 😁


End file.
